Manchester Area Cross Country League 25/26 season

MANCHESTER AREA CROSS-COUNTRY LEAGUE (MACCL)

The Manchester Area Cross-Country League (MACCL) which runs from October through February with five monthly matches, is among the most reputable in the country for depth and the quality of competition. Sale Harriers, of course, consistently ranks among the region’s leading clubs across most of the fourteen age groups. Before we clap the most successful, let’s give a big ‘shout-out’ to those MACCL guys who work hard to make this league so respected, competitive and valuable to clubs across the region. Our thanks also go to the host clubs, Sale Harriers’ officials, team managers, and super-star volunteers…..and certainly not forgetting generous photographers.

U11 BOYS:

This section was the club’s most successful of 2025/26 with their ‘A’ team winning all five matches and, therefore the MACCL title. Their ‘B’ team also won the silver medals. The section displayed tremendous depth, possibly their best ever! Individually, JACOB RENSHAW & JOSHUA LEONG were equal 1st overall. Other top overall finishers were SEBASTIAN O’HARE (5th), JAMES MORAN (7th), and LEO SELBY who was an excellent 2nd in the Heaton Park race.

U11 GIRLS:

The Sale A team were 2nd, a big improvement on last year, with POPPY DOWLING, CONNIE SUMMERS, ALICE SCHOFIELD, and ISABELLE NEESAM the leading counters. All had an excellent season. They were also 1st ‘B’ team.

U13 BOYS: The ‘A’ team, last year’s title holders, were 2nd with ARTHUR O’HARE the deserving individual champion. He led the overall winning team alongside TOBY HARRISON (6th) and CHARLIE HODGSON and JAMES WALSH, regular top ten members.

U13 GIRLS: The ‘A’ team were 3rd with LUCY O’BRIEN, as always, the section’s front-runner. FLORENCE CONNOLLY and IMOGEN MORAN also had a great season with both top-placed.

U15 BOYS: The U15 Boys ‘A’ team retained their Bronze medals from last year with NOAH PHILLIPS ending a great season, finishing equal 1st in the league. His top finishing colleagues – all promising runners were GEORGE HORSFALL, JAKE HARRISON and RUEBEN DUNN.

U15 GIRLS:

The U15 Girls easily retained their MACCL title for the 3rd consecutive year, with their ‘B’ team also highly placed 3rd overall. MEGAN BOYER was the MACCL champion, and GRACE HILL secured the bronze medal, both showing much improved form. BEA SOPER was a convincing winner in the two races she contested. Other top overall finishers were ROBYN HEYWOOD-YOUNG, MADDIE APPLEBY, CAITLIN WETTERS, ISLA ANDERSON, AMBER KHAN and BRIDGET FLYNN.

U17 MEN:

They were much improved, placing 2nd team with both lads top-placed overall. MATTHEW CULLEN-BROWN and CONOR Mc MANUS are this age-group’s back-bone.

U17 WOMEN:

Warriors were the only team to compete in at least four matches. PHOEBE CARROLL was the club’s flagship runner in this age-group. Well done, Phoebe.

SENIOR WOMEN:

Unassailable champions for the previous 5 years, the senior women had to relinquish their title to Chorlton Runners and take the silver medals following a battle royale throughout the five matches. CHLOE ELLIOT was Sale’s highest placed runner across the five matches but there were outstanding performances from ALICE WRIGHT who had a fantastic victory at Tatton Park and was 2nd at Liverpool. AINE CUNNINGHAM was a magnificent 4th at Liverpool.

NICOLA MOYNIHAM delivered two top class performances finishing 4th and 7th and LUCY ARMITAGE, LAURA MARTIN, MEGAN TUCKER, JESS NUGENT, sisters NOUF & NORA ALDUAIG and HANNAH BROWN also contributed massively to their section’s silver medals. Their ‘B’ & ‘C’ teams too, were locked in nip-n-tuck battles with Chorlton Runners. Sale’s ‘B’ team came out on top, thanks to typically great running from ANOUSKA BROOKES, HEATHER HUGHES, SOPHIE ARMITAGE and CHIARA YOUNG. Veterans RACHAEL ROZHDESTVENSKAYA and ANNE CHINOY also were key contributors to ‘B’ team success as well as to their own sections.

VET WOMEN:

As the senior women battled with Chorlton Runners, so also did the club’s veteran women but, in this case, Sale triumphed to retain the Division 1 title for the 2nd consecutive year. ANNE CHINOY, (who retained her L50 status for the 3rd consecutive year), JESSICA WELSH, SARAH GOULDEN, HARRIET HAMILTON and JACKIE CORDINGLEY (who was 2nd L65 overall) were the back-bone throughout the series.

SENIOR MEN:

The senior men had held the MACCL title for the previous five years since winning it from Salford in the 2019/2020 season. This year, a super-strong Salford squad won all five matches and took the title across the River Irwell. Sale pushed Salford hard throughout the five matches, with standout performances from PAUL PETERS, PHIL RICHARDSON, NICK TYNAN and BEN REES. Several more played pivotal roles competing in one or more matches. NIGEL MARTIN was 2nd at both Woodbank and Tatton Park; ALEX BRADFORD, MAX WHARTON, GEORGE NOBLE and PHIL ROBERTSON also really pressured Salford at the sharp end. Zippy veterans were also formidable challengers – the likes of MATT BARNES, ROB DUNN, STEVE Mc CARRON, MARCUS NICHOLSON and ANDY CURVIS. Sale Harriers ‘B’ team and ‘C’ teams compensated for missing the ‘A’ team title. Both enjoyed success!

VET MEN:

The veteran men finished 3rd behind Chorlton & Stockport but their ‘B’ and ‘C’ teams retained both league titles for the 3rd consecutive year. Individually, ROBERT DUNN was 3rd M40 across the series as was JOHN ARCHER in his M70 category. MATT BARNES retained his M45 title and AIDAN RAFTERY retained his M65 title both for the umpteenth year. Report by Fechin McCormick.

Series results